Description McIvor Genealogy

Janet Catherine Ross, nee MacLean, a narrative written by Hazel J MacIvor

Janet Catherine MacLean in her prime was five feet, six inches tall, with blond hair, very blue eyes and a light complexion.  She was extremely thin all of her life.  She wore her hair very long and dressed it in a chignon drawn back tight from her face.  She was born in Westville, Pictou County, Nova Scotia, Canada, the third child and first daughter of her parents, Daniel MacLean and Sarah Jane Simpson.  Her Great Grandfather, Hector MacLean, of Inverness, Scotland, had fought for the British during the American Revolution and had taken up a land grant on the West Branch of the East River where the village of Hopewell now stands.  Her Grandfather David Simpson, of Edinburgh, Scotland, had fought in the American Revolution as well.  The land grant he took up was in Merigomish.  Thus, she was Scottish in nationality on both sides of the house.  Her mother, Sarah Jane Simpson, was tall and thin as she was, and had a wide reputation for her domestic abilities and accomplishments.  Her daughter, Janet, was very close to her mother and patterned her life upon Sarah Jane's.

Not much is known about her early life, other than she was a very strict Christian opposed to strong drink, and any and all aspects of sin.  She was a serious, single-minded individual, filled with nervous energy, blessed with a talent for organizational ability which meant her home was run in a quiet dignity in an orderly and meticulous manner.  She was ever-ready to do a kindness for her neighbours and friends and was utterly devoted to her family.  She was a very quiet person who took life extremely seriously.  Her chores as a wife and mother were at one and the same time her greatest joy.  Of her it could be said, truly that "you could eat off her floors."

She had quiet, good taste both in furnishing her home and in her personal dress.  There were Oriental rugs in her living room and dining rooms, paintings on walls, leather-bound books on the library shelves, a piano in the parlor and Minton "Moss Rose" dinner service on her table.  Her everyday dinner service was the weeping blue willow.

After the death of her husband, James Ross, on the 27th September 1941, her mental and physical faculties began to decline.  Always frail, she became more so.  Her daughter, Gertie, moved in with her to attend to her needs.  But, her depression was so deep, nothing could stop the downward slide.  At last this woman who formerly had been so determined and energetic was confined to her bed for several weeks before she died, where she lay without uttering a word.  Just before she died she spoke clearly and firmly, "Wait for me, Jim!"